Tea by the lake…

First lifestyle post of this blog! I’m excited about this new section but also a bit nervous as I don’t know how you’ll react to this type of post… But life is sometimes about taking risk isn’t it?!

Anyway, a week ago I was invited to indulge an “afternoon tea” at the “Grand Hôtel du Lac” in Vevey, Switzerland. As the outside temperatures were fairly low, not to say winterish, the occasion came perfectly! Plus the Grand Hôtel du Lac is a stunning establishment embodying the Swiss tradition of luxury hospitality…

Dining room overlooking a pretty garden and the Lac Leman

For those of you who might not know what an afternoon tea is, it’s a typical English tradition dating back to the mid-19th. It’s sort of a mini-meal which is normally eaten at 5:00 pm. It’s composed of mini sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and jam, sweet pastries and cakes and of course… tea!

Upon arrival, we could choose amongst three different salons to have our tea served. After opting for the elegant main lounge, all in yellow, pastel grey-blue and gold shades, we were offered a small variety of teas to pick from. I was disappointed as I thought a five-stars hotel would have a much larger choice of teas. The winner was the good old Chaï. 30 minutes later the pastries and other nibbles arrived, including my all-time favourite: scones with clotted cream and jam.

We spent a lovely afternoon, in a sophisticated decor breathing understated luxury. Loved the decor. Loved the idea of treating myself to an afternoon tea in the middle of the week. Love afternoon teas in general. However we were disappointed by both the fairly condescending way we were greeted by the staff and by the quality of the meal served; not very five-starish… However this afternoon tea offer isn’t available anymore. So all the reasons to find a new place to indulge this great English custom…